The invention relates to an apparatus for exercises that relieve back pain and enhance strength and stretching in both lower and upper body.
In general, most occupations involve either sitting, standing, walking or even worse, carrying weights while in motion. In these situations the lower part of the spine or lower back carries a person""s upper body weight most of the time. All these activities add stress to the lower back constantly, and hence most people suffer from lower back pain one time or an another.
This invention is a result of my personal experience. I have had lower back pain for the past several years. I have taken physical therapy and performed various exercises to relieve my back pain. All my attempts failed to produce satisfactory results because of their unsuitability for my back pain or due to inconvenience.
By the end of the day I tend to lie down because of my back pain, and thus impairing all other needed activity. I also tend to exercise less since it was not really helping me because of increased stress on my back while exercising. I have tried various types of conventional treadmills and exercising bicycles at home, at work and fitness centers. However, all the equipment I tried failed to relieve my back pain effectively.
I wanted to shift my upper body weight to my hands while changing my walking posture, in order to relieve my back pain and to achieve effective upper-body exercises. However, the placement of any hand supports or their design failed to offer my intended purpose.
Prior art related to reducing load on the spine or increasing upper body strength failed to effectively address the stated issues. U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,261 issued to lams et al, on Jan. 22, 1991, discloses an apparatus for walking in spine unloaded state, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,,881 issued to Dudley on Jan. 6, 1999, discloses an apparatus for counterbalancing gravitational forces on the spine, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,117 issued to Fisher, et al. on May 5, 1992, discloses a treadmill with pivoting handles for arm exercises. None of the patents discloses any means for relieving back pain or the means of achieving certain postures specified in my current invention for stretching and strengthening exercises.
I experimented various walking postures on a treadmill while shifting my upper body weight on to my hands in order to relieve my back pain as well as exercising some portions of my body that were not otherwise exercised. The weight shifting was achieved by using a well supported horizontal hand bar running across the walking belt. The bar could be placed at different heights along the belt.
Positioning the horizontal hand bar below my waist level while transferring my upper body weight to the bar caused my spine to bend forward, this has stretching effect on my spine. By transferring my upper body weight to the bar, using my hands caused reduction in axial loading of my spine. Walking under these conditions would give good massaging effect on my lower back, which would relieve my pain.
The relative positioning of the hand bar with respect to the walking belt resulted in some postures, which provided additional stretching and strengthening effects on both my upper and lower body.
All my experiments and together with my experience using the conventional exercising equipment resulted in my current invention.
The apparatus primarily consists of:
Two rigid vertical posts, each of which is positioned and locked along a rigid rail in a desired position. The rails are attached on the left and right sides of a treadmill belt frame. This forms the primary assembly for the purpose of this description. Several individual attachments to the vertical posts, separately or in a suitable combination, would provide effective exercises.
The first one is a rigid horizontal hand support bar of a suitable cross-section to provide proper grip and comfort while exerting body counter weight forces through hands. The horizontal bar is perpendicular to the motion of the belt.
The above apparatus, thus, facilitates positioning of the hand bar anywhere along the length of the belt and at any height permitted by the vertical supports. The bar together with the supports is capable of supporting the entire weight of the user.
Though several positions are possible to suit individual needs, we can consider the following four primary positions for the purpose of understanding its operation: 1. Front-middle position, 2. Front-lower position, 3. Middle-middle position, 4. Middle-upper position.
In position 1, the hand bar is close to the front edge of the belt, and at a height between the waist and the knee of the user. The user places hands on the hand bar spreading at a comfortable position along the bar, then exerts downward pressure as needed to relieve weight on the lower back while walking at a desired speed. The body may be bent forward slightly to stretch the spine. Quick relief of lower back can be realized in this operation, while exercising both upper and lower body muscles.
In position 2, the hand bar is lowered to below the knee level of the user. In this position, the spine of the user becomes more horizontal and the axial forces due to body weight on the spine will be reduced significantly. The body weight will be shifted to both hands and legs more evenly, which stretches the spine, which also exercises arm and shoulder muscles. Stretching legs as far back as possible while walking causes increased stretching in the hamstrings.
In position 3, the hand bar is raised above the shoulder level, and the posts are moved closer to the middle of the treadmill. The user shifts the load from the lower back to the bar by applying downward force on the bar by pulling the bar down. Again, the user adjusts the load on the bar as needed for the best results.
In position 4, the bar is raised up to the maximum level where the user stretches arms up almost fully. Higher positions provide stretching in the arms and the upper body, similar to chin-ups, while reducing load on the spine for comfortable walk. This will also help stretching in the spine. In this position the user is almost suspended from the hand bar to reduce weight on the spine as well as leg joints.
The treadmill can be inclined forward or backward to achieve the results of strength and stretching exercises in various parts of the body. This facilitates both uphill and downhill walking while adjusting the forces against gravity using the hand support, which results in postures, and hence exercises, that are not provided by conventional treadmills. Inclinations may be steeper than what the conventional treadmills offer.
It is also an object of the invention to facilitate natural movement of the arms through a pair of swinging arm attachments. These can be attached to the vertical supports typically at shoulder level. The arm of the attachment is pivotally attached to provide full circular motion as well as swings closer and away from the user as needed. Resistance and the freedom of the individual direction of rotation or swing can be adjusted as needed. In addition, the length of the arm can be adjusted to suit individual needs. Also, shock absorbing means provided will reduce shock while weight shifting. This attachment allows the user to swing hands more naturally while walking in different postures.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an adjustable platform to serve various utility functions such as holder for a book, TV, display, and controls. The user will be able to position and orient these more ergonomically as needed. The controls may include wired or wireless apparatus to control functions of various visual, sensory and motion equipment.
It is another object of the invention to accommodate when one of user""s legs is unable to function. An attachment to serve as a footrest can be positioned at a convenient height along one of the posts should the user find it necessary to rest one of the legs. Additional spring action will provide necessary cushioning effect while the other leg and the rest of the body is working out.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable attachment for an air circulating equipment such as a fan or air conditioner to minimize perspiration and help prolonged workout. The attachment can be oriented and locked at a convenient height along the posts.
Another object of the invention is to provide for programmed functioning of all the attachments such as automatic and periodic movement of the hand bar as well as the vertical supports to be able to exercise more effectively for desired results. Various input parameters can be measured for monitoring and controlling the apparatus for safe and effective operations.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cost-effective solution. The basic apparatus that permit most of the stated exercises can be build with only a small additional cost to an existing treadmill or bicycle as an attachment. It is also easy to manufacture and assemble the parts. The complete apparatus, which offer automatic and power driven movements of the parts, may be manufactured using the existing technology.